The Peralta School community is committed to the development of the whole child. As an Oakland public school, Peralta’s curriculum framework is based on state standards and district-wide core programs.
Our teachers use that framework to build creative classroom communities with high standards for achievement, while recognizing the strengths and needs of each child. As an Alameda County Arts Demonstration School, we integrate the arts into all aspects of the curriculum.
Peralta also pioneered Second Step, a social and emotional learning program now required at all Oakland public schools. Our goal is to cultivate a welcoming environment for students to develop high self-esteem, compassion and respect for others and their community, and a love of learning.
Parents and staff also raise funds and receive grants to supplement the curriculum with a range of enrichment programs, including art, Spanish, music, and physical education. These supplemental programs are offered in class during school hours and would not be possible without the generous support of donors to the annual Peralta Fund and other fundraisers.
Core Programs
Like other Oakland public schools, Peralta uses Open Court Reading, a reading and writing curriculum based on phonemic awareness with coordinated exercises that become more inquiry-based as children advance. This is supplemented by journal writing, author workshops and other programs.
For science instruction, Peralta students benefit from the Lawrence Hall of Science’s FOSS (Full Option Science System), a hands-on, research-based approach to science education. In recent years Peralta has implemented the award-winning MARE (Marine Activities, Resources and Education also from U.C. Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. This whole-school program allows students to immerse themselves in an an intensive week-long, multi-disciplinary study of the ocean.
Second Step
Central to Peralta’s curriculum is the Second Step social and emotional learning program. Peralta was an early adopter of this program, which is now ingrained in our school culture. Kindergartners through fifth graders all have class time dedicated to Second Step.
Second Step is was designed by the Committee for Children, a nonprofit dedicated to creating a world in which children can grow up to be peaceful, kind, responsible citizens. Learn more about the Committee for Children here.
The Second Step curriculum is based on the concept that social intelligence incorporates a set of concrete skills that all children can learn. Second Step lessons are divided into three main areas:
- Empathy: Children learn about feelings, and ways to show understanding towards others.
- Anger Management: Children learn to take care of their angry feelings in ways that do not hurt others.
- Impulse Control: Children learn new ways to solve problems & practice skills such as apologizing, ignoring distractions, and making new friends.
Click here to read about our enrichment programs.